


Healing Wish

by HallmarK



Series: The Team and the Individual [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Angst, Ash's Kalos Team, Ash's Pokemon are protective cinnamon rolls, Bond Phenomenon, Canon-Compliant, Family, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Kalos-chihou | Kalos Region (Pokemon), Missing Scene, Post-Kalos Crisis, like millions of headcanons, no ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26605906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallmarK/pseuds/HallmarK
Summary: It takes a lot for Ash to admit when he's scared or face the fact that he has been through more ordeals than most kids his age, but when he does, he needs to be with the ones he trusts the most.As for Greninja... he isn't sure what he needs.
Relationships: Gekkouga | Greninja & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: The Team and the Individual [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972345
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	Healing Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a product of random story ideas I got when I was unsuccessfully trying to sleep, so I decided to jot them down...
> 
> I slept well after that.

Greninja stands stiffly to the side while his teammates shift and curl around Ash to keep him comfortable. Noivern, with his back against a large tree, has practically reversed the caregiver role with Ash, letting the boy lean his head into his large wing and white fur. Pikachu is curled up in his arms as Talonflame drapes a wing over his knees, using Flame Body to protect him from the predawn chill. Hawlucha and Goodra sit quietly within reach, the latter giving Ash a nuzzle with every shuddering intake of breath.

They brush off his apologies for being “weak,” gently lower his hands when he scrubs his wet face a little too hard, and don’t judge him even once.

To think this had started because Ash couldn’t sleep and had snuck out to a nature trail in Lumiose that _hadn’t_ been uprooted by demon plants. He’d only taken Pikachu with him but the rest had followed anyway, not wanting to let the boy deal with his emotions alone. 

Greninja just watches, not sure what to do himself—he’s never exactly been keen on ‘hugging it out’—except stand watch over them. It’s his first time seeing Ash so _low,_ worse than the time they were in Snowbelle, as the young boy tries and fails to look like he's "fine," whatever that means. Frankly, it’s a little scary. And he admonishes himself for thinking that way because he had learned to love his trainer unconditionally and wouldn’t just abandon him to deal with his problems if he was having a little trouble getting back to his usual speed. Ash is human, after all, albeit one who is hellbent on taking too much responsibility that isn’t his to take. 

And Greninja is no longer the vagabond Froakie he used to be. 

So, he croaks softly, prompting Ash to lift his brown eyes a little bit and meet Greninja’s pink ones, full of concern, but also resolve. It’s a promise that he’ll be there to support him, along with his team, and Ash thanks him for it.

Greninja cracks a smile at that, only for it to be wiped off as soon as Ash follows up with an apology with his voice half stuck in his throat, whispering that Greninja “shouldn’t have had to go through any of that pain, and I should have been able to protect you from that but I wasn’t thinking straight… I know how much trouble I can get into and it’s my fault that you guys have to go through it too—”

Whatever else he says flies through one ear and out the other, and Pikachu pats his arm, telling him to please stop. The Mouse Pokémon is clearly used to these needless apologies from Ash. 

Greninja, however, is not, and his expression doesn’t change much, but his eyes grow darker, the thick webbing between his fingers tightens and he’s sure he can literally break something right now. 

Protect?... Protect?! What happened back at Prism Tower wasn’t Ash’s fault. Greninja was the one who couldn’t break free from his Pokéball fast enough and save Ash from getting kidnapped in the first place because he was busy recovering from the League Finals in his Pokéball and had no clue what was happening... But it’s not like anyone else knew what would happen, so Ash can’t have known either, _how many times do you need us to repeat that, just please stop blaming yourself_ — 

He catches himself when Talonflame suddenly gives him an uncharacteristically fierce glare that says _you’re not helping at all._ Goodra and Noivern look astonished because a desperate outburst like this is a first for Greninja, at least for as long as they’ve known him. Hawlucha looks completely unsurprised. Pikachu, unconcerned.

And Ash had lowered his eyes to the ground, staring at it with an indiscernible expression that made Greninja’s stomach churn with guilt.

Hawlucha was right. The hawk had told him he was afraid that Greninja had bottled more than even _he_ could handle and might eventually let it out on the wrong person.

Great. 

Jaw tight and eyes hard, he turns away in embarrassment and crosses his arms, almost like an indignant child. No one says anything, allowing the frog some time to think and let his dwindling frustration pass.

Greninja is a Pokémon. He can take more pain than Ash ever could, so technically the whole ordeal at Prism Tower shouldn’t have affected him too badly. But he knew the Mega Evolution energy had put him and Ash through more mental and spiritual pain than physical. A kind of torment that tore at their very souls and fought tooth and nail to bring out the worst of their subconscious. 

That’s why being physically stronger wouldn’t have made it less painful.

As much as they hate it, it’s not something they can brush off.

After they had broken free from Lysandre’s restraints and activated the Bond Phenomenon on top of Prism Tower, forging a metaphysical link between their minds and souls, Greninja felt Ash’s subconscious still flickering and lingering in his mind like dark tendrils reluctantly slithering back into the deep hole in which they belonged. Except they were merely going back into a deep slumber until _something else_ drew them out again and promised them full control over Ash’s mind.

Greninja, too shaken to catch Ash as his knees gave out, had concluded at that moment that Ash’s subconscious was darker, scarier and buried much deeper than his own. It had left much uglier wounds in Ash’s mind, and Greninja had seen them.

And Ash was largely unaware, or perhaps just intentionally ignorant.

So, Greninja swallows down his anger and explains to Ash, in a voice so suddenly gentle he’s afraid it’s inaudible, that he didn’t mean to get angry. It’s just frustrating because Ash is hurting and should think about himself, too. He reminds his trainer that everyone on the team had decided for themselves that they wanted to stay with Ash regardless of the storms that came their way and were therefore equally “in trouble” as he was of their own accord, much to his teammates' fervent agreement. 

Ash manages a smile at that—a genuine one—until his lips suddenly quiver and erase it, prompting his hand to fly up to his wet eyes and rub them furiously. Clearly, these aren't tears of joy.

Why does this kid beat himself up for being human?

Then again, Greninja finds himself feeling equally blameworthy. _He_ is the one who houses the true power of the Bond Phenomenon inside him, after all. Power that people like Lysandre would torture and kill for.

He watches as Hawlucha, probably concerned about his trainer potentially gouging his eyes out just to make them _stop pouring liquid,_ lowers Ash’s hand and gently wipes the fresh tears with the back of his own hand, stating more as an observation than judgement, that he’s being too hard on himself.

Greninja finds himself staring at Hawlucha with a new sense of respect.

* * *

Goodra invites Greninja to sit on the ground with them, offering him a random berry he had just picked from a tree, which he accepts gratefully. He still doesn’t join the cuddle pile, though, and doesn’t mind watching the endearing sight of his teammates affectionately encircling each other and falling asleep right there.

They remain there well after sunrise.

He hasn’t been able to sleep, so he rises from the ground and watches the deep green leaves of the tree above him sway to the tune of the wind, enjoying the rare moment of peace. The trees stretch out their branches as if they’re attempting to eavesdrop on the inhabitants of the city as they wake up and prepare to rebuild it with love. Doctors and nurses, Greninja thinks, wake up to heal the wounded and the sick. Neighbours and friends open their doors and share with the unfortunate what they have lost. Builders prepare to strengthen the foundations of Lumiose and help it stand again. And so many more.

They all try to heal the wounds and prepare for a future with the scars.

And Greninja is in awe over how amazing and strong they all have been since the Crisis… 

The Ninja Pokémon looks at the peaceful face of his trainer as he sleeps, surrounded, literally, by the love of some of his closest friends. He sees a boy who has many reasons to hate the world, yet loves it with the best of his heart. 

The cool wind ruffles foliage, feathers and hair alike, and it's a potential sign of rain. And sure enough, he can smell it in the clouds coalescing overhead, floating over to create a shroud for the sun. It’s a good thing. He loves the rain, and he hopes it can cry the tears that Greninja doesn’t feel brave enough to shed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe there was a short time-skip between the Kalos Crisis Finale and the episode that followed it. There wasn't much emphasis on the aftermath of the Crisis or what the characters went through after fighting a literal war, so I decided at least something from Greninja's perspective was due.
> 
> Thanks for coming all the way to end.


End file.
